Organizations take legal action against São Paulo Governor João Doria for police violence
Social movements join a lawsuit filed by the State Public Prosecutor’s Office following the high number of killings by the police; the State Public Defender’s Office is also involved in the case
João Doria participates at the closing ceremony of the Regional Conference of the IACP – International Association of Chiefs of Police, in São Paulo.
After a series of attempts at dialogue with the governor of São Paulo, João Doria, over the increase in killings by the police in the state, civil society organizations and other groups have decided to go to court against the high number of deaths caused by law enforcement.
The São Paulo Public Prosecutor’s Office filed, in 2019, a public civil action calling for an end to summary executions and improvements to the external and social control of the police. The São Paulo State Public Defender’s Office is also involved in the case. Civil society organizations and representatives of the black movement submitted on Monday, August 24, a request for amici curiae (institutions accepted to contribute with technical information in court rulings) in the case.
According to the coordinator of the program to Combat Institutional Violence at Conectas, Gabriel Sampaio, the judicialization of the case has resulted from the lack of commitment by the state government to properly investigate police violence and to hold officers criminally and civilly liable.
“The state government needs to commit to a public security policy underpinned by the preservation of the population and of the officers themselves, by bringing the police forces into line with the principles of the Brazilian Constitution,” said Sampaio. “It is necessary to recognize the structural racism that is reflected today in the results of the security policy and that is clear from the profile of police victims: young, black males,” he added.
In all, 13 organizations make up the group, among them the Mothers of May Movement, IDDD (Defense of the Right to a Defense Institute), Uneafro, Network for Protection and Resistance against Genocide, 342Artes and Conectas Human Rights.
Increase in killings by the police
According to data from the Public Security Department, there are approximately 15 million police stops made in the state of São Paulo per year. Less than 1% of the cases result in arrest – which demonstrates that, in 99% of the cases, the “justifiable suspicion” to make the stop is either unfounded, false or abusive.
In the first quarter of this year, São Paulo registered the highest increase in killings by the police on record, of more than 20% compared to the first quarter of 2019. Data from the first half of the year show a record 514 people killed by the police, despite the pandemic.
In the month of April alone, the São Paulo state government registered an increase of 53% in the number of people killed by on-duty police officers compared to the same period a year earlier.
